Covid-19: Africa’s cases surpass 9.14 mln – Africa CDC

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 20 (NNN-Xinhua) — The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 9,143,184 cases as of late Saturday evening, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) said the death toll across the…

Wagner Group: Why the EU is alarmed by Russian mercenaries in Central Africa

 BANGUI, Dec 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — This week the European Union imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation accused of committing human rights abuses in the Central African Republic and elsewhere. The EU has said that it will no longer train CAR government soldiers because of their links…

Fifty arrests in France as Algerians celebrate Arab Cup victory

 PARIS, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Over fifty people were arrested in France overnight as fans of Algeria celebrated their Arab Cup final triumph, largely on the Champs Elysees in Paris.    French police said Sunday that in Paris alone 32 were detained and 432 people had been cautioned, mainly for…

UN talks fail to open negotiations on ‘killer robots’

The review conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons gets under way at the United Nations in Geneva GENEVA, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Country officials and campaigners have expressed disappointment after United Nations talks on autonomous weapons systems known as “killer robots” stopped short of launching negotiations into an…

Nigerian Pres Buhari calls for concrete support to crush terrorism in Africa

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari ISTANBUL, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to provide concrete support to defeat terrorism and insurgency in Africa.Buhari was speaking on Saturday in Istanbul at the third edition of the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit.This is according to a…

Chad to deploy additional 1,000 UN peacekeepers to Mali

Chad planned to deploy 1,000 additional UN peacekeepers to Mali BAMAKO, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Mali’s foreign affairs ministry has said that Chad planned to deploy 1,000 additional UN peacekeepers to Mali to reinforce its troops battling armed groups in the former French colony.“The deployment is part of a bilateral…

Paraguay insists civil servants must wear clothes made of traditional fabric

ASUNCION, Dec 19 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — The Government of Paraguay has issued a decree whereby civil servants are encouraged to wear clothing made of the ancestral ao po’i fabric on Fridays to promote and protect the country’s heritage. The typical clothing dates back to the 19th century and is emblematic of…

Peru’s president under investigation for corruption

LIMA, Dec 19 (NNN-MERCOPRESS) — Peru’s President Pedro Castillo is once again under the spotlight after the Attorney General said his Office was already investigating press allegations that businesswoman Karelim López had paid the head of state offered to help the Puente Tarata III consortium win the tender for a…

Roundup: Dutch lockdown as Europe intensifies Omicron response

 THE HAGUE, Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Netherlands announced a Christmas lockdown and London declared a “major incident” as Europe tries to rein in rising Covid-19 case numbers and the highly mutated Omicron strain takes hold.   EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has warned that the Omicron variant could be…

Texas building its own ‘wall’ on US-Mexico border: governor

  RIO GRANDE CITY (Texas, US), Dec 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Texas has begun building its own “wall” of huge steel bars on the border with Mexico, its Republican governor Greg Abbott said Saturday, accusing President Joe Biden of not doing enough to stop illegal immigration.    “Texas is taking what is…